By Morgan
Sung
Parents of black girls are sharing videos on social networks of how their daughters are excited to see the trailer for the next Disney movie,
The Little Mermaid
, starring actress Halle Bailey as Ariel.
“Mommy!” exclaims a girl in a video posted on the TikTok network by user nickyknackpaddywack, “she's a brunette like me!”
It's one of many videos shared on TikTok and Twitter with hashtags like #representationmatters
to
highlight the value of character diversity in children's stories, despite criticism of Disney.
Disney previewed the film at the D23 convention over the weekend.
The clip accumulates 11 million views on the YouTube network.
His publication has, however, revived the racist comments, which had already emerged in 2019 when it was announced that Bailey would be the protagonist;
In the original film released in 1989, Ariel was a white-skinned, red-haired cartoon character.
In a video shared by user Precious Avery on TikTok, a girl named Emery is seen lying on the sofa sitting up straight when Bailey appears on the screen.
“I think she's a brunette!” Emery exclaims in the video, “Brunette Ariel is so cute.”
User callmedarii posted a similar video of her daughters' reactions: “This is why representation is important!
We can't wait to see this,” she wrote in the clip's captions.
“Is Ariel really black?” asks a girl in a video posted by user jendayis682.
"In this
Little Mermaid
movie she will be," replies the person who is recording the video.
“Do they understand how our babies feel about seeing themselves in fairy tales that the world told them weren't meant for them?” wrote jendayis682.
"Say what you want and complain all you want ... I don't hear anything about the joy and emotion that this girl feels seeing a person who represents her," she added.
The film will feature four new songs by Latin composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, more detailed mermaid tails and a black princess, director Rob Marshall said, according to Variety magazine.
[Film director Jean-Luc Godard, key figure of the seventh art, dies at the age of 91]
Marshall said the live-action animated remake "will honor the original animated film," but that he wanted to "bring some depth" to the reimagined story.
Critics have claimed that the cast is not faithful to Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, which was originally published in Denmark in the 19th century.
But many fans defended Bailey's choice, noting that the 1989 Disney film also isn't particularly faithful to Andersen's fairy tale, which is a violent story that ends with the Little Mermaid's death after the prince marries another. woman.
Screenwriter Gennifer Hutchinson, who worked on the
Breaking Bad
series and now the
Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power
series , said she loved the "nightmare factory version" of
The Little Mermaid
.
In a Twitter thread, he summarized Andersen's original story, in which the little mermaid has to stab the prince to get her tail back but can't bring herself to do it.
"It turns to sea foam," says Hutchinson, "so what do people say about staying true to Andersen's original story?"
Other Twitter users also mentioned details of the original story that Disney did not include in their 1989 film.
"Hans Christian Andersen wrote
The Little Mermaid
in 1837. It's not a legend or a myth," said Twitter user ViragoX.
“His skin is described as translucent green.
Her hair color is never mentioned.
She is in constant agony with every step she takes, the prince treats her like a pet, then marries someone else,” he concludes.
In a recent interview with Variety, Bailey spoke about the racism she has faced, describing the support her grandparents have given her.
"It was inspiring and encouraging to hear those words of encouragement," he said.
"They were telling me, 'You don't understand what this is going to do for us, for our community, for all the little black and brown girls who are going to see themselves when they look at you.'